First off, thanks to all who newly subscribed to the blog! Darren was the winner of the astrology reading raffle. We’re doing his chart today.

And now, here’s a beautiful poem written by Mimi Moore. She is my friend Elizabeth’s mother. For the last 20 years, I’ve gotten to hear her poetry and the gorgeous, simple letters she writes to Elizabeth. It’s not exactly the correct season, but I love this one. Enjoy.

Happiness is…

I watch you rake the leaves in piles
And sweep them
On to a plastic sheet
With strong, sure strokes –
A sailor, rowing in a sea of leaves.

“‘We’re doing it, Ma,” you say.

I laugh,
Happy to spend
The last, warm day of October
With you –
Watching the work.
Watching the chickadees storm the feeder,
Watching a sassy blue jay steal corn kernels
From a decorative piece on the woodshed door.

“Your turn. You’re needed.”

I get to my feet,
Help fold the ends
Of the plastic sheet
Around the leaves,
Making a fat bundle,
Like a giant, Chinese dumpling –
A perfect task
For a retired, family-pastry-cook.

I hold the bundle together
While you lash it to the wheelbarrow.

“My dear, son, Earl,
When the time comes that I,
Like a golden maple leaf,
Let fly and fall to earth,
Ready to sleep forever,
Remember this blue-sky day,
The happiness we shared
And the sea of golden leaves we swam in.”

On Fridays, I’m going to introduce you to my friends–one at a time.

I’m going to do this because I believe when we are introduced to someone with words from the heart, they become a part of our community. Our community grows. Our circle of care extends.

I love meeting someone, learning about their dreams or needs and feeling into whether I have something to offer. I love connecting people. I love helping others take the next right step in their lives.

So, I’m going to introduce you to people I love. And it may inspire you. You may have something to offer. You may have a message for someone I introduce. He or she may have something to offer you. I want to offer the dance of connection. I want to grow a community that is steeped in love and inclusivity and care.

Val is a rare gem. I’ve known her only a little more than two years but she is tremendously dear to me. She is endlessly supportive, wildly creative and fiercely strong. She is a powerful and dependable mirror in my life–reflecting the truth of what she sees.

This is the kind of reflection and support she sends on a regular basis:

“i think who you are, and what you give/teach all came together tonight. there were so many moments where your words, the music, the dance, and our souls melted into one. such precious beauty. i feel like we all expanded into each other effortlessly. the depth of our exploration is profound.”

She is one of the least judgmental people I know. She truly does hold anyone who speaks to her with reverence and with patience. She asks questions that provoke thought and growth. And she asks those same questions of herself.

About a year ago, I asked some friends for some brainstorming and reflection about how they see the work I do– how they see me in the world. Val made a 6 foot collage with fabulous images and phrases. It was LOVE bursting off the page.

She inspires me on a daily basis to offer more love, patience and playfulness. And she’s my pal in being determined to get to the gold of who we are even if we’re terrified to dive into the necessary muck to get there.

Val, by the way, is also one of the most productive people I know. She is a visual effects artist/ supervisor for Stargate Studios and does crazily cool work like THIS (http://gizmodo NULL.com/5473819/outdoor-green-screen-use-on-tv-is-insane).  So, she works long hours under pressure but then shows up for every amazing class, lecture, or workshop I’ve been to in the last two years. With a smile on her face. And a kind of wonder and willingness that is rare.

So, dear amazing community out there, here’s one area we can rally around Val:  This woman is ready for an amazing, strong, creative MAN. (Yes, with capital letters!) She has been doing such excellent relationship work and she’s about as magnetic and ready as they come. She is beautiful, sensitive and wide open. Who do you know? Could there be any amazing available men actually reading this? WHat about your cousin? What about that guy in the class you took two months ago? I’m getting giddy writing this. There is magic in the power of community.

Just write me here with ideas and I’ll pass them along.

Big fat love. And hurray for amazing Val.

My dear friend Juliana helped me start a garden today. We planted some beans and peas and tomatoes. This may sound like a simple thing. In the life of Heidi, it’s not. I’ve been wanting to plant something –anything — for about 10 years and somehow have not managed to do it.

Juliana has a Taurus moon and Aries rising. She’s comfortable with her hands in the dirt and she’s willing to dive into a project. We worked in my backyard for about 90 minutes today and it feels completely different. And I feel expectant! How many days before I see the first sprout?

The Sun moves into Aries on March 20th and we welcome Spring.  That gives us all 10 days to really wrap up the astrological year. Pisces is the sign of endings. It’s a time to complete a cycle — to end the winter in our lives. We have 10 days to prepare for the energy of that new budding sprout!

Some good questions to ask yourself as you prepare for ARIES and SPRING:

1. What am I bursting to begin or intiate and what must I shed before this new beginning?

2. What am I clear about? What one tiny thing am I absolutely clear about?

3. Am I ready to act from that place of clarity as Spring begins?

Spring just happens to be my favorite season. I’m an Aries after all. My countdown has begun.

Big LOVE to all.

Why look forward?

It is Tuesday afternoon
on a perfect spring day.
I am watching my husband
carry our baby daughter
along a circular mown path
around a meadow.
He lifts her to his shoulders,
disappearing for a moment
behind a tree.
They walk through
a patch of shade
and out again.
I imagine he is singing to her
or naming the flowers and birds
in the field.
She is surely laughing
or studying everything
or both.
Her perfect head
bobs up and down
through dappled light.

They could hear me if I called.
I stand and watch on the steps
of our cabin.
We are here to celebrate
five years of marriage.
When first we came,
we were newlyweds,
one year into our journey.
Now we arrive with
new life.

Soon they will return
to me,
to this little home.
Their journey will end.
Tomorrow will come.

Why look forward?
Why desire anything but this?
Why long for a moment other than now?

For now,
here now,
are flowers
and sunlight–
My husband
and child
and I–
Inseperably
dancing
in a meadow
awash with our
unabashed
love.

***

I wrote that poem 5 years ago. Now I have Dylan who was Kate’s age in this poem.  It has been raining off and on all day.

We’ve been playing together in the house. It’s Sunday. Why think of a moment other than now?

Why long for one?  This moment is complete.

On Fridays, I’m going to introduce you to my friends–one at a time.

I’m going to do this because I believe when we are introduced to someone with words from the heart, they become a part of our community. Our community grows. Our circle of care extends.

I love meeting someone, learning about their dreams or needs and feeling into whether I have something to offer. I love connecting people. I love helping others take the next right step in their lives.

So, I’m going to introduce you to people I love. And it may inspire you. You may have something to offer. You may have a message for someone I introduce. He or she may have something to offer you. I want to offer the dance of connection. I want to grow a community that is steeped in love and inclusivity and care.

I met Edie in a writing class with Bruce Gelfand (http://www NULL.brucegelfand NULL.com) about four years ago. I loved her writing immediately. And I knew I would love her too. There was something so accessible and honest about her — something tender too — and it poured through her writing.

I remember thinking that she was a little shy but also, in the next minute, thinking she was crazy strong and determined and could do whatever she set herself to do.

It wasn’t until Edie and I found ourselves in a day long writing retreat together that we actually looked across the room and simultaneously thought, “I need to know her.”

Edie was the one who took action. She called me to ask if I’d be willing to listen to chapters of a book she was writing as she wrote it. She wanted feedback along the way. The book was called “A Thousand Years of Vince Vaughn.” I LOVED the title and knew I would love working with her in this way. So, yes! I was there in a heartbeat.

Those next weeks were a blast. I’d show up and she’d read and I’d CHEER. The book was great. I couldn’t wait for the next chapter. It was fun and sexy and original. I was gulping it up.  She busted the book out and was done in a matter of months. She was unstoppable.

We rapidly became friends. Edie was one of the original Hello Love Experiment (http://www NULL.helloloveexperiment NULL.org)group. She cheered me on as I unfolded the idea of the Hello Love practice. And at one of our group meetings when someone jokingly threw out the idea of a Cross Country Hello Love Tour, it was Edie who really said “Why not?” And then it was Edie who was responsible for  organizing a huge part of the tour –hotels and money and tour stops.

Here’s another wonderful thing about Edie. The following list is just a sampling of what Edie has done since I met her almost 4 years ago: Written a novel, worked in construction management, dog-walking, tap dancing lessons, singing lessons, became a certified yoga teacher, completely gutted and designed and built a yoga studio called Shakti Box (http://www NULL.shaktibox NULL.com), participated in the Hello Love Tour and Experiment, worked with at least 10 amazing teacher/healer/body-workers all of whom required a lot of intense self-reflection and deep letting go, guitar lessons…..I could go on. She is up for anything. She says YES. She is willing to dive in and get excited and give almost anything a try.

Also, she was my true tea buddy during my pregnancy with Dylan and throughout his first year. I can’t tell you how much it meant to have someone drop by on a regular basis when I was barely leaving the house to just talk and drink tea. She drinks English Breakfast and I drink Earl Grey. (Leave lots of room for cream!)

But here’s the thing, community!! Here’s what’s making me CRAZY! Edie’s book is WONDERUL! It needs to be published. People have wanted to publish it but somewhere along the line Vince Vaughn’s people caught wind of the book and got all the wrong ideas. It’s nothing but a huge CELEBRATION and LOVE FEST for Vince Vaughn. He should do a movie of it right now. But in this world of who knows who…we need someone to CHAMPION this book for Edie!! Who knows Vince Vaughn? Who can let him know it would only be PURE SWEETNESS for him if it was published. (We’re trying to avoid the whole suing thing).

Let’s do a six degrees of separation here…

This book needs to be out in the world. And soon!

I just uploaded a couple of introductory astrology classes from the last session I taught. They cover the basics of signs, planets and houses!

If you’re at all interested in starting to learn this wonderful language, check them out here!

I have classes running now. It’s not too late to join.

LOVE!

Recently I had the opportunity to RAGE at someone who willingly and lovingly received it. It was part of an exercise at a workshop I attended 3 weeks ago. So often exercises like this simply do not TRANSLATE when one describes them outside the workshop. But let me simply say this: It was life-changing.

I was SURE I didn’t want to rage. In all my life, I really have never screamed at someone –unless it was in an act or in jest. I was certain, in fact, that I didn’t have it in me to outrageously YELL at someone for a period of time.  Well, I did. And I loved it. I was high for days. In fact, my partner and I were in tears by the end of the exercise. He, I’m sure, would say it was life-changing for him as well.

Here’s the deal. I know I have inwardly raged. I have RAILED against someone or the world silently. But I have never let it FLOW. And really, it’s such a strange LIMIT I placed on myself for decades. It’s not that I think everyone should run around screaming at one another. Rather, I think that we should be willing to explore the territory where we think, “Oh no, that’s just too much. I couldn’t do THAT.”

Here’s a poem I shared with my women’s group several months ago. Many of the women couldn’t stand it. They felt it was TOO much. But then after we all sat with it for awhile– and after, in fact, I read it out loud and they all let their bodies MOVE to it, something wonderful happened and they began to embrace the “too muchness” of it.

Dithyramb of a Happy Woman

Anna Swir

Song of excess,
strength, mighty tenderness
pliant ecstasy.
Magnificence
lovingly dancing.

I quiver as a body in rapture,
I quiver as a wing,
I am an explosion,
I overstep myself,
I am a fountain,
I have its resilience.
Excess,
a thousand excesses,
strength,
song of gushing strength.

There are gifts in me,
flowerings of abundance,
curls of light are sobbing,
a flame is foaming, its lofty ripeness
is ripening.
Oceans of glare,
rosy as the palate
of a big mouth in ecstasy.
I am astonished
up to my nostrils, I snort,
a snorting universe of astonishment
inundates me.
I am gulping excess, I am choking with fullness,
I am impossible as reality.

******

I love this idea — “impossible as reality.”

To me, it reads that everything I consider almost impossible–exhibiting emotional extremes or running a marathon or actually articulating clearly in every moment what I think or feel or want — all these things are very real and very possible if I just choose to  push past the careful limits I set for myself too long ago.

(Friend Friday returns next week!)

Andrew, my husband, surprised me with tickets to see the wonderful poet, Mary Oliver, at Royce Hall last night. We barely made it. The entire family has been down and out with the flu. But I gathered myself, knowing he’d planned this surprise for 2 months, and hoisted myself into the car.

I’m so glad I did. Mary Oliver is exquisite under any circumstances, but after two days of complete surrender and delirium, there’s something even more potent about the simplicity of her message. She speaks directly to the yearning heart. She speaks directly to the part of us that knows that every moment, there is beauty to be feasted upon. The world is remarkable, she says. Stop to breathe it in. Respond to it, she says. Let your heart feel the world.

Mary Oliver is particularly in love with her dog, Percy. She read us four poems about Percy last night. She says she’d like to make him famous. (She has a great and delightful sense of humor). Here are two poems about Percy that leave me feeling light and thankful.

Percy (Nine)

Your friend is coming I say
to Percy, and name a name

and he runs to the door, his
wide mouth in its laugh-shape,

and waves, since he has one, his tail.
Emerson, I am trying to live,

as you said we must, the examined life.
But there are days I wish

there was less in my head to examine,
not to speak of the busy heart. How

would it be to be Percy, I wonder, not
thinking, not weighing anything, just running forward.

******

I Ask Percy How I Should Live My Life (Ten)

Love, love, love says Percy.
And hurry as fast as you can
along the shining beach, or the rubble, or the dust.

Then, go to sleep.
Give up your body heat, your beating heart.
Then, trust.

On Fridays, I’m going to introduce you to my friends–one at a time.

I’m going to do this because I believe when we are introduced to someone with words from the heart, they become a part of our community. Our community grows. Our circle of care extends.

I love meeting someone, learning about their dreams or needs and feeling into whether I have something to offer. I love connecting people. I love helping others take the next right step in their lives.

So, I’m going to introduce you to people I love. And it may inspire you. You may have something to offer. You may have a message for someone I introduce. He or she may have something to offer you. I want to offer the dance of connection. I want to grow a community that is steeped in love and inclusivity and care.

Meet  Meredyth Hunt

Meredyth is kick ass. She is one of the most highly capable, wildly expressive, playful friends I have.

Let’s break it down. When I first met Meredyth, we were studying hand analysis with Terry-Linn Snider. Meredyth was Terry-Linn’s assistant and helped to facilitate the entire class. She was gloriously organized, very serious and completely committed. This is the role I usually play in a group. I was somehow deeply relieved that I didn’t have to play the role and also hugely impressed with the way she held the room. So, first off, if you want to get something done in an incredibly organized fashion with a ton of integrity, Meredyth is your gal.

Now, little did I know what hid underneath Meredyth’s composed demeanor. She’s a wild woman — in every best sense of the word. She is prolifically creative and DARING.
(Did you notice I capitalized all those letter?) It goes something like this: She has an idea, let’s say, for a little performance. It’s usually a bolt out of the blue– a very intuitive hit. She walks out on a limb, dresses the part, and creates something extraordinary. She  surprises and enlivens and leaves everyone laughing way too hard.

The picture above is from my daughter Kate’s 5th birthday party. She created a party for her that no one will soon forget. Her entrance was out of a 7 foot, welded (and then covered in paper and glue and chicken wire) egg. She emerged as some extraordinary bird. The faces of the children were not to be believed.

I could go on about the party, but let’s put it this way. Are you wanting to throw an unforgettable, completely original shin-dig to celebrate something or someone?
CONTACT MEREDYTH. She’s like a party planner with a brilliant twist. She’s both the ‘talent’ and the ‘suit.’ That is, she entertains like no one’s business AND she’s also fully capable of keeping the show running on time without a glitch.

Okay, what else? Meredyth is also an amazing hand analyst. Want to know about your life lessons? Want to get a glimpse of your life purpose? Want to learn whole new skill sets to make your life work better? Have a reading with her. Check out her site.

Finally, let me say that Meredyth is like a great natural force. She can envelop you in her big love. Feeling a bit rattled? Need some grounded, deep loving care? Meredyth knows how to wrap herself around you and breathe stability back into your whole being.

In short, I hope you get to know Meredyth if you don’t already. I hope you get to brainstorm with her, create with her, play with her. She is one of my daughter’s favorite people. And I think that says a lot.

Get a hand reading! Use her to plan something extraordinary. Tap into this bottomless well of creativity and brilliance.